After my first year of coaching robotics, I led a five day summer robotics camp. The daily schedule and events were up to me to plan. I researched camp programs in order to determine the theme. I found several great options through Carnegie Melon Robotics Institute . They offered several camps on disk that would work.
REFLECTION
The first challenge I encountered while planning the camp was that there was going to be a range of age levels attending the camp. This was the first time my school had offered a robotics camp and they had not thought to set an age bracket initially. I ended up with a kindergartner as a participant. I immediately adapted the daily lessons and experiences for him, and he loved every minute of the camp!
I also had to plan accordingly for students who had previous experience with robotics while many other students would have no experience. I organized partnerships based on this knowledge. Several of my older students quickly became apprentices and were very helpful throughout the daily explorations.
I knew from past coaching and teaching experiences I needed to have a well-organized day and many transition activities to hold the students interest throughout each day. I integrated teamwork activities and various building and programming lessons into the daily routine, but I always adapted my plans if I felt the students were really into an activity and wanted to keep working.
The past few summers I did not run the camp. Instead I focused on my graduate studies but I made sure to pass on all my notes and scheduling ideas to support its ongoing success.
REFLECTION
The first challenge I encountered while planning the camp was that there was going to be a range of age levels attending the camp. This was the first time my school had offered a robotics camp and they had not thought to set an age bracket initially. I ended up with a kindergartner as a participant. I immediately adapted the daily lessons and experiences for him, and he loved every minute of the camp!
I also had to plan accordingly for students who had previous experience with robotics while many other students would have no experience. I organized partnerships based on this knowledge. Several of my older students quickly became apprentices and were very helpful throughout the daily explorations.
I knew from past coaching and teaching experiences I needed to have a well-organized day and many transition activities to hold the students interest throughout each day. I integrated teamwork activities and various building and programming lessons into the daily routine, but I always adapted my plans if I felt the students were really into an activity and wanted to keep working.
The past few summers I did not run the camp. Instead I focused on my graduate studies but I made sure to pass on all my notes and scheduling ideas to support its ongoing success.